Meet the Doctor

Hi! Dr. Jon here.

My story with chronic pain began in high school when I took a nasty hit while playing football. I've spent years seeing a variety of doctors for help, but none of them seemed to understand why I was in so much pain. 

In college, I became obsessed with learning about the human body. I became skilled with corrective exercise, learned the most current ideas on myofascial release, and relentlessly studied exercise physiology and biochemistry. I knew I wanted to pursue a doctorate in physical medicine, so I chose chiropractic school as my route toward becoming a physician. While in chiropractic school I doubled down hard on sports medicine. If there was a technique to learn or a continuing education seminar to attend, I was there.

In 2016 I opened my first practice, Denver Sports Doc. I could finally share my vision of what modern chiropractic care should look like. Within a few years, I was known as the premier chiropractor in Denver for professional bodybuilders, Olympic weightlifters, elite powerlifters, and high-level strongman competitors.

Then my health started falling apart.

I was experiencing what I would now call "low energy symptoms".

Most days I would wake up around 4 AM. Not because I wanted to, but because my body decided that was the time I was supposed to wake up.

I could barely finish my workouts. So I relied on stimulants like caffeine and pre-workout drinks to give me the energy to train.

My skin was a mess. Pimples on my face, cystic acne on my back, and red bumps on my arms.

My testosterone was in the gutter. With a free testosterone of 227 ng/dL and a lackluster sex drive.

My blood pressure was steadily rising, along with my blood glucose and lipids.

I was prediabetic for years, but the suggested interventions weren't helping.

The muscles in my chest, shoulders, and neck would involunarily twitch constantly throughout the day. 

My anxiety was at an all-time high, I was extremely irritable, and I had hard times focusing.

My brain fog would get so intense I couldn't read, couldn't focus, and felt like I lost the ability to have an intelligent conversation. It was like a wad of cotton was stuck inside my brain.

Oh yeah, and my chronic pain was also getting worse.

Moving to Montana.

In 2022 I sold my practice and my family and I relocated to Bozeman, MT. My stress was at an all-time high and all of my symptoms were getting worse. As fate would have it, just a week before I planned to open my new practice, I tore my pec doing a bench press. At this point in my life my career was on hold, my ability to workout was gone, and my health was plummeting.

I started seeking help from other providers.  

The medical system was a joke. Doctors didn't seem to care. "This is a normal part of aging", they would say. I tried medications that came with side effects. I was referred to counseling, which helped nothing. So I moved on.

I tried working with a naturopath. He ordered over $1000 worth of lab tests that gave little to no insight into what was causing my issues. He gave me a boatload of supplements, overprescribed hormones, and suggested that some of my complaints were actually good things.

Moving on yet again, I started working with a PA specializing in men's health. He advocated for me to do a diet that I had already been doing for years. High starch, high fiber, high protein, low sugar, and low saturated fat. Not a single solution was offered I hadn't already tried.

I started taking matters into my own hands.

My entire career has been spent on health and fitness, how could this be happening to me?

According to the experts, I was doing everything right. I exercised, didn't eat out, avoided sugar, and ate my vegetables. I used the sauna, did cold plunges, and meditated. I journaled, went outside, grounded, and found new hobbies. Yet I was still dealing with mood issues, chronic pain, hypertension, and brain fog. I was sick all the time, my gut was a wreck, and I was gaining extra belly fat.

Out of pure luck, I stumbled onto a podcast with a guest talking about gut health. This episode resonated with me as I had just recovered from a bout of intestinal distress. He spoke about how stress can lead to GI issues like decreased motility, bacterial overgrowth, and intestinal permeability. Using a bioenergetic approach, he laid out some strategies for overcoming this stressed state.

Bingo. After implementing some of these strategies I started to feel like myself again. The acute brain fog and intestinal distress were the first to resolve. I was intrigued, so I pursued to learn more.

I started measuring my metabolism by checking my waking body temperature and pulse rate (they were both devilishly low). I got more in tune with my digestion. I started eating fruit and sugar again. I avoided PUFA like the plague. I became more selective of the ingredients in the food I was eating. I was taking less supplements. And my symptoms continued to improve.

The bioenergetic approach is about maximizing energy production at the cellular level. With quality food and water, a healthy environment, and a well-functioning metabolism, I am happy to say that every single one of my unpleasant health symptoms has completely resolved. Including my chronic pain that plagued me for 17 years.

Here and Now 

Life has returned me back to Colorado to practice a fresh perspective on how to provide better care for those dealing with chronic pain, injury, and low-energy symptoms like I was. In addition to thoroughly evaluating your pain and injury, I utilize laboratory analysis to see how your metabolism, hormones, and other health markers are contributing to your condition. So many of my clients seeking help with pain also have issues with digestion, blood sugar, stress, immune function, mental health, thyroid, hormones, etc. My goal is to connect all of these issues together and form a plan that positively and dramatically shifts your overall well-being and quality of life. 

Energy is everything. Our metabolism determines the amount of cellular energy our bodies produce. A well functioning metabolism allows our bodies to produce an abundant amount of energy to fuel our cells, energize our tissues, oppose stress, support our brain and nervous system, and support hormone function. An abundance of energy can also reverse chronic disease, correct metabolic dysfunction, and heal chronic pain and injury. Improving metabolism asks that you work WITH your body and not against it by providing ample fuel, a quality environment, and correcting any metabolic disruptors along the way. 

I do not advocate for drugs or pharmaceuticals. I do not believe in expensive or ineffective interventions. I do not think your condition should be blamed on genetics or your own shortcomings. I believe your body, with the right input of nutrients and a stimulating environment, can naturally overcome pain, injury, and the diseases that plague our society. Our world needs better alternatives to modern medicine when it comes to chronic disease and chronic pain and I aim to provide just that. 

-Dr. Jon